The "new" Retreat House

Finally, it is just about complete. The new house here at the Retreat. Although we loved the apartment for all the fun we had in there, we were ready to make the move. The apartment is for rent now by the way, if anybody is interested.

Once I remember where I packed everything of the 100s of items I put into folders, we will be all done. Then again, you are never really done with your home. Each day is a new day and each day brings something new.
We hope to invite all of our friends very soon so they can see the new Retreat home.

You Are My Tomorrow
Blessing That Is You
I Will Always Love You
You Feel Like Home To Me
Memories In My Mind
This Amazing Love
Imperfect Me
Light Inside My Heart
Love Changes Everything
I Promise

It's not about "YOU"

It really is not about you or him or her....the blog is about ME...my perspective, my vision, my demons as I see them.
I am not as okay as I pretend to be. I use Second Life to help me fight it all. One day at a time, one month at a time, year by year. I have good days and I have bad days. I rely on friends and avatars to make me laugh and smile. Sometimes they say painful things and sometimes I walk away from them. Many I love and I know they care for me as well. :)

There are some people who stick by me, those are true friends. They know it is not about "YOU" it is about me. My pain, my fear, my blog. Those who want to stand next to me please do, those who want to walk away go ahead, but at least I told you who I am.

Today, my almost death day anniversary as I call it may make others laugh, but it really isn't a laughing matter at all.

I will share something very personal here, so instead of wondering who I am...this is also me:

If you know someone who needs help please help them...

ZERO Tolerance call 1-800-799-7233

Ryukyu Star Festival Garden

The star festival is celebrated every year in Okinawa on July 7. It is based on an ancient legend that comes from China about a two people who fell in love. The girl's father did not want the two lovers to be together but he allowed them to meet once a year on July 7th.

traditional bridal kimono

So, if you look up into the evening sky on July 7 and it is clear, you can see the two stars reunited. But if it is rainy or cloudy, know that they will try to meet again next year. Some children will even make teru teru bozu てるてる坊主 to wish for good weather such that the lovers will meet again!

The story is told a little different in Japan (Aug 6-8)  and includes each year to write wishes on colorful papers and display them on bamboo trees. Because of that, the streets are decorated very beautifully and people wear their traditional kimono.

What would you wish for?

Wishing Star

Starlight,
Stars bright,
I wish I may,
I wish I might,
Please grant me this wish tonight.

Or so the stories say,
That wishing stars,
Though oh so far,
Grant Wishes.

If you ask,
By saying the rhyme,
Or try again another time,
The wish will come true if you wish with all of your heart,
And then maybe,
Just maybe,
The magic will start.

So wish you may,
And wish you might,
See a wishing star,
Tonight

I hope you get a chance and go visit the Ryukyu Star Festival Garden and I wish for you to go there with the one you love.

Be on the "Above them" team!!!

If people are trying to bring you down it only means that you are above them. Never forget haters are waiting for you to fail. Make sure you disappoint them. Stay focused. Stay Driven.

No matter how bad things get and when Greg is not around I have my pillow boyfriend Brad. Not only does he make me smile, he also makes others smile. What could be better, right?

When you smile, endorphins are released which help in lowering stress levels by reducing the stress hormone cortisol. They act as body’s natural pain killers.

There are so many things you can do to stay focused on all the positive things you have in your life. Trust me on that there is always someone off worse than you.

Keep smiling, because the haters hate it when you smile.

Wear your favorite color and stand tall and forget about the bad.

“Smiling stimulates our brain’s reward mechanisms in a way that even chocolate, a well-regarded pleasure-inducer, cannot match.”

Hmmmm...why not put them both together? Smile and have chocolate.

It is like creating your own  Nutella Fan Club. Made you smile? Good, it is working then. Alrighty then, let's be part of the "Above Them" team then and forget about those who want to bring us down. I am taking my own advice on that one.

SMILE :)

The SL Enquirer wants to know...I am gonna be a bad girl!!!

I just realized I have 23 days left until I need to be back at work. Damn!!!

Sometimes I wish I could be a bad girl, but it never fails I won't and people use me for what they want to use me for. 

In Second Life it is the same way. You help people and you make them your friends and you trust them, but yet they use whatever you tell them and take it with them just to talk behind your backs. 

I feel karma will eventually get you and really if I am that interesting to you and you have to talk about me, thank you for giving me even more power. You know who you are...yes you...you see I hear you talk about me, I feel it and one day it will bite you in the ass.Zatrzymać!!!

Anyway, enough of that. Let me show you a few previews of the new house.

The new construction was needed I think or maybe I just needed it to defuse the boredom of summer and the restlessness within me. Greg is a good guy, he is and we tested the water of the pool here and I never felt such soft water that is perfect in temperature as well.

 And here is the beautiful house. A little more modern than the Retreat House that stood here on this spot for 3 years. I am working still on all the decorations and furniture layout.

By the way:
The apartment is for rent now. I also have the new house that is for rent and one of the lots has been rented already. You cannot beat the prices and the prim amounts you get here, plus you have the Retreat as well to hang out at. Why would you go anywhere else? Oh, I see you want to pay more and get just a little skybox or you want to be 1000s of lindens to a small place with hardly no prims. Have fun!!!

Under Construction!!!

“My own heroes are the dreamers, those men, and women who tried to make the world a better place than when they found it, whether in small ways or great ones. Some succeeded, some failed, most had mixed results... but it is the effort that's heroic, as I see it. Win or lose, I admire those who fight the good fight.” 

― George R.R. Martin

And so it goes that we decided that the Retreat is ready for a make over. This will be a big job, but once started needs to be finished. Maybe not in one day, but it will be done.

And here we are measuring the area for the new house and landscaping. We will move out of the apartment, which will be for rent after this and move into the new Retreat Home. 

I discovered a pattern while I was looking at the history of the Retreat. The first house on this property was established June 12, 2012, with a house that fit the then 2,048 sqm lot. The second home the Le Clos Miran was erected on July 30, 2014, on the new and improved 4,096 sqm lot.

And here it is July 17, 2017, with the new construction on the now 32,768 sqm lot, which also includes the Basement Club and the Galicia Art & Cultural Hall. Amazing! Looks like summer is the time when I get restless and want to create. Now worries the next change might not happen until 2020 but on an entire sim that time. We are safe for now :)

Stop by and check out the process.

The Retreat

Superhero and Villains

What is a hero?

....a person who is admired or idealized for courage, outstanding achievements, or noble qualities and a superhero would also have some super powers as well.

We had an excellent time at our Superhero-Villain set at the Basement Club Subway. However, it seemed to be more villains this time around than superheroes.
Good thing for Mr. Incredible(Greg) to save the night. There also was Wolverine(Micheal), who is considered an " anti-hero"
  The term “antihero” is misleading because it literally means the opposite of hero if you break it down, but the proper definition means no such thing. The fact is, an anti-hero is still a hero, and Wolverine is both anti-hero and superhero. He has super powers which he uses for good causes.

I am sure it was not easy to figure out who the winners were for the costume contest, but eventually, there were 3 winners.

Black Widow (Deb) made sure the subway was safe before she left. So good to have people in high places.

Finally a moment with Mr. Incredible alone.

If you missed this great set, don't worry because something new and great is already being thought about. So excuse me for a little bit here, while I go and take care of this guy. See you soon!!!

You will see the Subway again for another set in the near future.

WONDER WOMAN

I think I’d like to fly 

Through the air with amazing speed. 

Strong yet feminine, 

Wondrous and a woman.

Wonder Woman (me), Greg, Jack and Shy, and Shannon gracefully falling to earth.

Let me backtrack here for a second. Before we went on this skydiving experience we did have our first set of the superhero/villain adventure at the Basement Subway.

DJ Dandy delivered some fabulous tunes and the trivia was for some of the nerds out there. Some of those answers were hard others easy. I guess it all depends on how much you know about these characters.

DJ Dandy....no joke

Some brought their own super-powered vehicle

Dance, dance, dance

After all that was done, I came up with the brilliant idea to skydive from this location back to the grounds. So I lured the crew onto a platform and said come sit and then stand on the chair. I guess since I am Wonder Woman they all listened, even Greg :)

All I had to do now was to count down...3,2, 1 and off we went falling down. Weeeeeeeeee....that was fun.

And we all made it down safe...well after all they had Wonder Woman looking out for them. (hahaha I did like it when I took that platform right under their feet).

Come back tomorrow for some more Superhero-Villain adventure from 6-8 PM SLT...just follow the teleport to the subway.

Milan Gacha Mall & Roller Rink

When I need a break I usually go and look at different gacha places. You never know what you might find. Some are true bargains, like this outfit for 45L.

I came across a really cool place because it was not just for the gacha but you actually have to walk around there and explore and I found this really great roller rink.
This place is at the Milan Gacha Mall and owned by Sarrah Madrox Nightly. Sarrah was kind enough and skated with me and she showed me all the moves. So much fun chatting with her.

Please do go and check it out and tell her Anjelikka send you. The roller rink would be a very cool place to have a party event or a DJ set. I have to talk some more to Sarrah about this but this is a great place. I am so glad I explored it.

How to occupy yourself...

...there is no reason when you are on your own that you have to sit there and feel lonely. I try to most definitely stay busy and do the things I like to do.

You can have fun in the sun with a little help of some plastic dudes.

That is of course just one way. The main thing is not to isolate yourself completely from the world, which I love to do during the summer. These guys above were no trouble at all. They did what I asked them to.

As I was traveling through this sim to do what I love most of all in second life as well as in real life to take photographs, I came ran into an old friend from Germany. 

It is always so "kewl" to find out what someone has been up to.

I also finished some subway tickets for the upcoming Superhero set next week, which of course I had to show off to Greg.
I hope everybody will come and check it out...it is pretty damn cool there. Get your free tickets along with some other nice things.

After all that hard work doing what I love to do and on such a hot hot very hot day, it is time to jump into the water.
Stay busy...keep moving...you can do this!!!

The Kraken (or the grumpy old man)

Somehow the Kraken and the grumpy old man are the same. He creeps up from the deep of a lifetime lived and then all of a sudden there he is. The Kraken!

In the real world, it is really a problem and has its official name too, like irritable male syndrome. What causes this? There are many reasons the Kraken comes out of the man you care for or a neighbor you know or maybe the aging boss. the number one reason may be health related as the body changes in men just like women. Let's face it men lose their hair get a belly and even grow some manly boobs. All that can make you grumpy for sure.

Another reason could be loneliness. When you are alone it can get very depressing and the downfall on that is the more alone you are the grumpier you will become.

But this is also true:

They were grumpy young men, and they got old. They're a minority, you know. Most old men are perfectly nice, and some have even mellowed with age. But some have been rehearsing all their lives for this role.

Of course, when they were young they called it something cooler. Sulky, maybe. A little sullen. Over-critical, perfectionistic.

Then in middle age, they got irritable, even disgruntled.

And finally, after years of practice, they reach their full potential.

Voila! Grumpy old men!

Get off their lawn.

Calling all Superheroes....

It is the year 2017 and the villains have taken over the Subway Station at the Basement. We are calling all superheroes to come and help us defeat (party) them...

This event will be 2 days on Saturday, July 15 with DJ Dandy and his set of superheroes tunes. On Sunday, July 16 DJ Likka will take over. We will have a "best superhero/villains outfit" contest.

There will be other freebies as well as a trivia game about Marvel and DC comics...so brush up on your knowledge.

Please, Captain America...HELP!!!

I will fly with you Batman

How rude! One of the villains broke the entrance sign.

So mark your calendar, because you do not want to miss this both parties are from 6-8 PM SLT and a special Teleport will be there for us...who knows Superman may pick you up.

Happy 4th of July!!!

You are probably celebrating Fourth of July parties all over Second Life and as well as real life which is a great thing. We should always show patriotism to our country.

@the Basement Club upper level. 4th of July celebration 2017

While you are out there enjoying the BBQs and the fireworks remember the reason why this date is important. Although in the beginning of this date Americans did not really celebrate that did not happen until later. 

After the War of 1812, the Federalist party began to come apart and the new parties of the 1820s and 1830s all considered themselves inheritors of Jefferson and the Democratic-Republicans. Printed copies of the Declaration began to circulate again, all with the date July 4, 1776, listed at the top. The deaths of Thomas Jefferson and John Adams on July 4, 1826, may even have helped to promote the idea of July 4 as an important date to be celebrated.

Whatever you do on this day and all days BE KIND TO ONE ANOTHER.